Tremere

Politically speaking, the Tremere contrive to present themselves a unified front to the rest of the Camarilla and display themselves as operating from a position of strength. All setbacks are brushed off as minor, all rebellious elements simply the separation of the wheat from the chaff. Privately, they know the precariousness of their situation; the strength of the Tremere in the Camarilla depends in part on its alliance with the Ventrue, an alliance that has been quietly going sour for the past century. If the Ventrue decide the Tremere are more liability than asset, they’ll go looking for a more equitable arrangement - just like they did with the Salubri and the Cappadocians. That makes the presence of the Banu Haqim even more uncomfortable - some Tremere wonder if their replacements have already been brought into the company.

Now the Tremere have to find a solution to their situation. The simplest answer is to kiss the master’s ring and grovel at the feet of the Ventrue until they’ve weaseled their way back into their traditional place of prominence, but there’s no guarantee that will work a second time, and also it was pretty fucking humiliating the first time. Now, if they could build a political bloc in the Camarilla that would let them face the Ventrue on equal footing, that would be a much better arrangement. The elders of Clan Tremere have learned the hard way that they must betray before they are betrayed, after all. But to do that, they’d need an ally that plays to all their strengths - say, a clan of intelligence experts, scholars, and warriors - one with an ancient mystical pedigree that complements the Tremere’s own thaumaturgical excellence. It’s absurd. It’s unthinkable. But the Tremere know better than anyone that it’s only unthinkable until you think it, and it’s only absurd until you do it…

On Modern Nights, the Tremere remain overwhelmingly a Pillar Clan of the Camarilla. Though Carna's rebellion grows in the shadow cast by the Pyramid over its slaves, it remains an existential threat to most Warlocks, who find the Anarch Movement to be no safe haven. Though House Telyav has emerged to take House Goratrix's place in the Sabbat, its strongholds are far away in Eastern Europe.

The Code of Tremere

The Tremere DO have an internal code of rules, purportedly written in blood through Thaumaturgical ritual as it was spoken aloud for the first time by Lord Tremere. The eldest Tremere roll their eyes at this - they know that the whole thing is pretty much lifted straight from the Old Form of the Code of Hermes with minor tweaks to reflect the Tremere’s vampiric existence. Tremere is remembered as being many things, but he was never much of an original thinker.

Some Tremere ultra-loyalists use the Code as the ironclad rule and guide for their nightly existence. Most Tremere know that the code is really only going to get enforced if they screw up, and note the fact that the Code has very few prohibitions, mostly admonishments not to get caught or injure the House and Clan through one’s Maleficia.

I, [initiate's name], hereby swear my everlasting loyalty to House and Clan Tremere and all its members. I am of their blood, and they are of mine. We share our lives, our goals and our achievements. I shall obey those the House sees fit to name my superiors, and treat my inferiors with all the respect and care they earn for themselves.

I will not deprive nor attempt to deprive any member of House and Clan Tremere of his magical power. To do so would be to act against the strength of our House. I will not slay nor attempt to slay any member of the House and Clan except in self-defense, or when a magus has been ruled outlaw by a properly constituted tribunal. If a magus has been ruled an outlaw, I shall bend all efforts to bring such magus to justice.

I will abide by all decisions of the tribunals, and respectfully honor the wishes of the Inner Council of Seven and the wishes of my superiors. The tribunals shall be bound by the spirit of the Code of Tremere, as supplemented by the Peripheral Code and interpreted by a properly constituted body of magi. I have the right to appeal a decision to a higher tribunal, if they should agree to hear my case.

I will not endanger House and Clan Tremere through my actions. Nor will I interfere with the affairs of mundanes in any way that brings ruin upon my House and Clan. I will not, when dealing with devils, or others, in any way bring danger to the clan, nor will I disturb the faeries in any way that should cause them to take their vengeance on the House and Clan. I also swear to uphold the values and goals of the Camarilla, and I will maintain the Masquerade. Insofar as these goals may conflict with my goals, I will not pursue my own ends in any way that would endanger the Masquerade. The strength of the House and Clan Tremere depends on the strength of the Masquerade.

I will not use magic to scry upon members of the House and Clan Tremere, nor shall I use it to peer into their affairs. It is expressly forbidden.

I will train only apprentices who will swear to this code, and should any of them turn against the House and Clan, I shall be the first to strike them down and bring them to justice. No apprentice of mine shall be called magus until he first swears to uphold the code. I shall treat my apprentices with the care and respect that they earn.

I concede to my elders the right to take my apprentice should it be found that my apprentice is valuable to an elder's work. All are members of the House and Clan and valuable first to these precepts. I shall abide by the right of my superiors to make such decisions.

I shall further the knowledge of the House and Clan and share with its members all that I find in my search for wisdom and power. No secrets are to be kept, or given, regarding the arts of magic, nor shall I keep secret the doings of others which might bring harm to the House and Clan.

I demand that, should I break this oath, I should be cast out of the House and Clan. If I am cast out, I ask my brothers to find and slay me that my life may not continue in degradation and infamy.

I recognize that the enemies of the House and Clan are my enemies, that the friends of the House and Clan are my friends, and that the allies of the House and Clan are my allies. Let us work as one and grow hale and strong.

I hereby swear this oath on [current date]. Woe to they who try to tempt me to break this oath, and woe to me if I succumb to such temptation.

Tremere Hierarchy

Each faction of the Tremere is highly organized, and the Tremere are possibly the most organized and hierarchical clan in the Jyhad. The capstone of the pyramid is Tremere himself, and beneath him the Council of Seven. The hardest workers in the Pyramid’s scheme are probably the Regents and Magisters. Lords and Pontifices occasionally coordinate multi-chantry or regional rituals, but mostly do a little paper pushing, compiling reports and shifting around Apprentices or appointing new Regents. While the hierarchy of the Pyramid is ostensibly clear-cut, in practice where you’re assigned matters. Aisling Sturbridge is High Regent of the New York City chantry network, giving her as much power as the Lord who technically commands her. When Carna was forced to step down as Prince of Marseilles and reassigned to sit as regent of the Milwaukee Chantry, it was technically a promotion within the clan though it was a massive demotion in terms of her personal power.

Gaining Status

• Do whatever it takes to get ahead. Understand that the rules are only strictly enforced on failures, betrayers, or people the Regent doesn’t like.
• Pursue secrets of other blood magic methodologies, such as Necromancy or Dur-An-Ki.
• Complete tasks handed down to you by clan elders.
• Increase the clan’s influence in your domain
• Foil the schemes of rivals and enemies of the clan, such as the Banu Haqim and the Tzimisce
• Do something helpful for the chantry.
• Take credit for someone else’s success in doing something helpful for the Chantry.
• Increase your knowledge of Thaumaturgy
• If pursuing your own goals, make sure your superiors get a juicy kickback from your successes, especially if using clan resources to pursue said personal goals

Losing Status

• Get caught with your hand in the cookie jar
• Fail without someone else to blame it on
• Cause the clan to lose face to the rest of your sect
• Pursue knowledge of Thaumaturgy your elders have decided they don’t want you to have (and get caught)
• Expend clan resources on personal goals with nothing to show for it that profits the clan
• Pursue your personal goals while neglecting or ignoring orders from your superiors
• Let secrets slip to outsiders… with nothing to show for it
• Show a lack of aptitude for blood magic or some other way of pulling your weight

Tremere Ranks and Titles

Beginning beneath the Council, from the top-down, the main body of the clan is organized as follows:

• Pontifices - Tremere who govern large stretches of territory (the United States has a Pontifex orientem and a Pontifex occidens) or several smaller countries and report directly to the Council of Seven.
• Lord - Tremere who govern a subdivision of a territory and answer to a Pontifex. Ex. Lord of California, Lord of Spain.
• Regent - Tremere responsible for leading a chantry, effectively the Tremere leader of a domain. May or may not also sit as Primogen - if they don’t, the Tremere Primogen is subordinate to the Regent. The Tremere recently implemented a new organization plan where a large metropolitan area under Camarilla control will have a central chantry that controls smaller satellite chantries. The head of the central chantry in these networks is given the honorific of “High Regent.”
• Magister - Tremere who are sufficiently advanced to no longer be called Apprentices but are not (currently) Regent of a chantry. May be traveling Tremere agents, direct representatives of a Councilor, Pontifex or Lord, or be assigned to a chantry to support a Regent and instruct Apprentices.
• Apprentice - the majority of House Tremere are organized in the seven circles of Apprenticeship, ranging from the First Circle (newly-minted Apprentices with almost no freedom or responsibility) to the Seventh Circle (well-seasoned apprentices with complex duties and a high degree of personal freedom)
• Fledgling - unreleased neonates.

There are seven circles of Apprenticeship and seven circles of Magisterium through which a Tremere can advance. Promotion through these circles is controlled by the Chantry Regent, and promotion brings with it increasing trust and freedom, along with greater access to more sensitive materials.

The Tremere hierarchy being parallel (some might say perpendicular) to the Camarilla complicates matters of organization a bit. For instance, a Primogen is supposed to sit as leader of the clan in a domain, but if the Regent doesn’t take the job for themselves, a Regent being seen pushing the Tremere Primogen around can cause the clan to lose face. A Lord has administrative authority over a region and enough personal and political power to get what they want from a Prince usually, but not always. And Tremere Pontifices have to contend with Justicars and Archons who aren’t beholden to them at all. The Tremere Justicar is a sort of floating clan authority, mostly as a stick the Tremere can use to beat non-Tremere princes into submission.

Tremere Houses

House Tremere	Affiliated with the Camarilla. Available for play.
House Carna	Affiliated with the Anarch Movement. Not currently available.
House Telyav & Unbound Tremere	Affiliated with the Sabbat. Applications limited.

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Disciplines

Blood Magic	Thaumaturgy
Tremere	Auspex, Dominate, Thaumaturgy
Telyavelic Tremere	Auspex, Prsence, Thaumaturgy
Viziers	Auspex, Celerity, Quietus

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Relevant House Rules

• Auspex
• Dominate
• Learning Rituals

Worldbuilding content by H.A.R.D.A.C. (treeOfWoe)

House Tremere (The Camarilla)

Outsiders find the most confusing distinction within the Tremere the one between “Clan Tremere” and “House Tremere” as both ostensibly mean the same thing. “Clan Tremere” enfolds the whole of Tremere’s bloodline, including all rebel sects. Even when a Kindred has renounced House Tremere, they are still Clan Tremere.

House Tremere are those Tremere who are loyal to the Pyramid and as such are part of the Camarilla. Technically, it even includes their ghouls. While for centuries their position as a dominating force within the Ivory Tower was unchallenged, now their footing is once again precarious. A series of setbacks has dogged House Tremere for more than two decades - a war with the Tremere’s mother Order of Hermes cost them precious resources and left them unable to prevent what turned into a cascade of disasters. After the war with the Hermetic Order, the Tremere’s enemies within the Camarilla made their move, cashing in boons and making political maneuverings to dig more bloody chunks out of the clan. This left House Tremere completely blindsided when a huge faction of the Banu Haqim petitioned to join the Ivory Tower - while the Tremere were able to slow down the admission of their enemies as a pillar clan, they were unable to stop it.

Then, just as House Tremere crushed the Antitribu of House Goratrix and prepared to rebuild their power, Carna the Princess Witch found a new way to cheat the blood bond and led a faction of rebels to the West Coast and the Anarch Movement. Carna’s rebellion continues to threaten the unity House Tremere needs, as it represents a temptation to disaffected Apprentices in a way the Sabbat never could.

Despite these setbacks, House Tremere remains strong. Its chantry network is vast, its resources tremendous, its Kindred are organized, its influence within the Camarilla second to none. It’s clawed its way to the top from more precarious positions than the one it’s in now - and as they say, challenge defines the magus. Magically speaking, the Tremere rigidly follow the precepts of Thaumaturgy (which they created) and practice blood magic that follows the classic Hermetic correspondences, though they do allow some deviation from the Hermetic model within the Thaumaturgical framework in the minor houses.

Despite their reputation as D&D wizards, the leaders of the Tremere understand that “power is power.” They had a monopoly on reliable magical power within the Camarilla for centuries (and in the opinion of many, they still do) - but they leveraged that into money, favors, and access. They retain home-field advantage in the Camarilla, and they’ll use it - ruthlessly. Just like they always have. Whatever it takes.

Concordant Bodies AKA Secret Societies

Each of the Concordant bodies (also known as Secret Societies) of the Tremere bring with them some benefit of membership and additional risks and responsibilities. To join one of the concordant bodies, Camarilla Tremere must take the 1 point "Secret Society Member" feat. The concordant bodies are not available to Tremere in the Sabbat or the Anarch Movement. A concordant body often has privileges and benefits of membership, but membership in some concordant bodies includes attendant responsibilities and risks.

Political Concordant Bodies

• Astors - internal police within House Tremere who hunt down lawbreakers, traitors, infiltrators and diabolists
  • Benefit of Membership: Astors have special dispensation to draw on clan resources and membership and ignore clan hierarchy and laws when in pursuit of their duties.
  • Drawback of membership: Since most Tremere are guilty of some measure of infraction against the clan's Code, a known Astor is regarded with fear and mistrust at best. At worst, they may be actively targeted for sabotage or assassination. ACAB.
• Brothers of Absinthe - transcendentalists who experiment with mind-altering thaumaturgy and substances.
  • Benefit: May begin with The Focused Mind as primary path. May study rituals that have to do with vampiric senses and consciousness with no special dispensation.
  • Drawback: None.
• Children of the Pyramid - hardcore loyalists who believe the concept of the Pyramid has attained a quasi-divine reality and through it, House Tremere itself.
  • Benefit: Members of this faction seem to have a supernatural ability to navigate its intrigues, and will often get favorable results when seeking dispensations or resolving disputes within the clan where others wouldn’t.
  • Drawback: Children of the Pyramid willingly bind themselves to the clan elders, seeing this as a sacred communion. You are three steps bound to Clan Tremere (and your lips are permanently bound to its ass).
• The Covenant (Aka the Cyclopean Covenant) - a faction dedicated to the pursuit of Necromancy. Some say that the Covenant has been providing a secret safe haven to Cappadocian researchers for over six centuries.
  • Benefit: The Covenant have conditional access to the Sepulchre Path, Bone Path, and Ash Path, and any Necromantic rituals from the V20 corebook that are not noted as proprietary to another clan or faction. They learn Necromancy as an out-of-clan discipline.
  • Drawback: Members of the Covenant are involved in centuries-old top-secret research, and are expected to do their part when called upon by other members of the Covenant. Some of this research brings them into direct conflict with Clan Giovanni, into contact (not necessarily hostile!) with elements of the Sabbat such as the Harbingers of Skulls, and other mysterious foes not well-known outside of the Covenant. Instruction in Necromancy and necromantic rituals is contingent on successfully completing tasks for the Covenant, some of which may involve considerable danger.
• The Elite - another faction of hardcore loyalists, the Elite believe the Tremere represent the next step in vampiric evolution and are dedicated to further perfecting its form.
  • Benefit: May take Mastery of the Mortal Shell as their primary path, reflecting dividends of their studies. The Elite may purchase blood magic rituals that hone or perfect the vampiric form without any special dispensation.
  • Drawback: The beliefs of the Elite smack of the transcendental philosophies of the Tzimisce. Some influential members of the clan mistrust them because of this.
• Guardians of Tradition - Tremere ultra-conservatives who oppose all deviations from the classic Hermetic model and are against any modernization of the clan or its magics.
  • Benefit: May learn “classic” paths and rituals of Thaumaturgy without any special dispensation.
  • Drawback: Guardians of Tradition not only shun the practice of magicks that deviate from the classical model at all (such as the Path of Technomancy) they actively seek to prevent the proliferation of these magicks and seek to discredit and even eliminate their users.
• The Unbowed Mundanes - in modern vulgar argot “The Muggles” - a faction that advocates for Tremere who have no aptitude for Thaumaturgy and their place in the clan.
  • Benefit: Unbowed Mundanes often receive favorable treatment from Tremere ghouls and preferential treatment from sectors of the clan where the less Thaumaturgically talented send to settle, such as logistics and supply.
  • Drawback: Muggle hate runs strong in the clan, and known Unbowed Mundanes may find their Thaumaturgical research slowed or stymied. After all, magic’s not important to them, right?
• Traditionalists - loyalists to the clan’s traditional methodology and hierarchy. “Default” Tremere who for some reason feel the need to politically organize. Still more moderate than the Guardians of Tradition faction, in that they’re more likely to ignore progressives than challenge them to a Blood Certamen.
  • Benefit: Many clan elders love a good brown-nosing suck-up and their reactions toward this faction tilt toward the favorable.
  • Drawback: Many contemporary Tremere low-key hate these boot-licking ass-kissers, and their reactions toward this faction tilt toward the unfavorable.
• Transitionalists - modernists and progressives who believe that in order to adapt the Tremere should be willing to experiment with its hierarchy and methodologies.
  • Benefit: May choose one of the non-traditional Thaumaturgical styles as indicated in the V20 Guide to the Anarchs and may learn the paths and rituals listed in that style without special dispensation. List this style in your Secret Society Membership note.
  • Drawback: Members of this faction often find that clan traditionalists close avenues of study that would be open to conventional members of the clan. Special dispensation is required to learn all paths and rituals outside of the Transitionalist’s chosen methodology.

Outlawed Political Concordant Bodies

• Quaesitori - a “boogieman” faction that purportedly swears allegiance to the Code of Hermes above the Code of Tremere and seeks reconciliation with the Tremere’s mother Order.
  • Benefit: Quaesitori can take a Contact representing a member of the mortal Order of Hermes. This is an exception to standard rules of the Contacts background. This is usually a member of House Tytalus.
  • Drawback: Quaesitori are in violation of the Oath of Tremere and subject to immediate recall and execution if discovered.
• The Eyes of the Serpent - A cult of Setite converts within the Tremere.
  • Benefit: Members of the Eyes of the Serpent may take a dot of Contacts representing a member of the Followers of Set. This is an exception to the standard rules of the Contacts background. Many also take the Setite Initiate merit with accompanying benefits.
  • Drawback: Members of this conspiracy are in violation of the oath they swore to the Code of Tremere, and subject to recall and execution if found. Besides, what kind of Setite gets caught?
• The Third Eye - [Redacted on order of Counselor Grimgroth]
  • Benefit: Hypothetically, a member of the Third Eye would be able to take a Contact representing a member of Clan Salubri they had helped in the past. This would be an exception to the normal rules of the Contacts background. They might also (MAYBE) be able to communicate with a member of the Salubri Antitribu in a non-hostile manner through this contact. If the Third Eye existed, which it doesn’t.
  • Drawback: If the Third Eye existed, which it doesn't, any Tremere found to be a member of it would be subject to immediate recall and execution. So it’s a good thing this faction doesn’t actually exist.
• Illuminated Brotherhood, Order of the Wyrm, Horned Society - Diabolists
  • Benefit: Dark Thaumaturgy paths and rituals. (This faction may not be open to PCs).
  • Drawback: A diabolist who’s clumsy enough to get caught deserves what they get. Game over.

Minor House Concordant Bodies

Unlike the Tremere's political secret societies, the Minor Houses of the clan are centered around Occult philosophies and thaumaturgical methodologies. House Tremere tolerates most of these minor houses as controlled experiments. Some of the minor houses have enjoyed high esteem, but the success of Carna’s rebellion has some conservative Tremere pushing to abolish all such concordant bodies entirely.

• Trismegistus - classical Hermeticism, especially symbology and numerology
  • Benefit: Members of House Trismegistus may take Spirit Manipulation as their primary path of Thaumaturgy, reflecting an emphasis on traditional Hermetic invocations.
  • Drawback: None
• Hashem - Kabbalah
  • Benefit: Members of House Hashem may take the Path of the Focused Mind as their primary path reflecting their emphasis on Kabbalism.
  • Drawback: None
• Rodolfo - divination and geomancy
  • Benefit: May learn protective rituals such as wards and rituals related to divination without special dispensation.
  • Drawback: None
• High Saturday - Vodoun (allows non-Tremere members such as Samedi)
  • Benefit: May take Spirit Manipulation as primary path. May take a Samedi mentor and learn Vodoun Necromancy.
  • Drawback: Subject to visitation and meddling from Baron Samedi in the same way the Samedi themselves are.
• Auram Guild - alchemy
  • Benefit: May take the Path of Elemental Mastery as primary path representing classical elemental transmutation, and learn rituals relating to alchemy and transmutation of blood and other materials without special dispensation.
  • Drawback: None
• Massimo - creation and dissemination of rituals
  • Benefit: If ritual research is stymied, may get around it with a successful Charisma + Contacts roll, difficulty 4+ level of ritual, successes required equivalent to level of ritual desired. Each roll requires 4 downtime actions. Success indicates you make contact with a ritual buddy who’ll teach the ritual on the sly. A botch means you got caught going over your superior’s head.
  • Drawback: None
• Ipsissimus - “pure” study of Thaumaturgy
  • Benefit: May choose any path available to Camarilla Tremere as primary path. May learn any Thaumaturgical ritual listed in the V20 corebook without special dispensation unless specifically noted as proprietary to Thaumaturges of another sect, such as Paper Flesh.
  • Drawback: All extensions of the occult self other than Thaumaturgy (meaning other disciplines and the like) are seen as distractions and are avoided unless supporting one’s study of Thaumaturgy. Many members of this house have the Mage Blood flaw, not that they see it as one.

House Telyav and the Unbound Antitribu (Sabbat Faction)

The Telyavs were a sect of Lithuanian Tremere thought destroyed during the War of Princes, as their domain fell to Ventrue invaders. Originally, the Telyavs were a cabal of Tremere sent to experiment with syncretizing the methodology of Thaumaturgy with pagan correspondences and practices, and were also charged with studying the magic of the Tzimisce Kolduns. The Telyavs eventually “went native” and became independent from the main body of the clan, though they still paid tribute to Ceoris. They also developed a distinct bloodline, evincing different proprietary disciplines than the main branch of the clan, and a distinct weakness. When the Ventrue invaded Lithuania during the War of Princes, the Telyavs fought back, violently; as the Tremere were pursuing an alliance with the Ventrue at the time, they quietly withdrew their support from their errant bloodline, left the Telyavs to their doom, and spoke of them no more. Most who knew of the Telyavelic Tremere assumed they had been wiped out, but on the Winter Solstice in the year 2012, a group of these Tremere emerged from a misty otherworld and were greeted by a group of Tzimisce Kolduns. No one is sure precisely what arrangement was struck between old enemies that night, but the Telyavs then joined the Sabbat.

Most Telyavs remain in Eastern Europe, though some have traveled abroad. When questioned, members of House Telyav say their goals are revenge on the Ventrue that plundered their domains and the House and clanmates who left them to die. Their version of Thaumaturgy takes the conceptual framework of Tremere practices and replaces Hermetic correspondences with Slavic pagan ones, though they are capable of studying and practicing traditional Hermetic thaumaturgy with no difficulty. Structurally, House Telyav organizes itself into packs called “circles” and often prefers to maintain enclaves away from civilization, using spirit allies to protect themselves from lupines and other enemies.

Tremere “Solutus” (meaning unbound) isn’t a real political entity - it’s a disparaging term for the few Tremere post the decimation of House Goratrix who’ve defected to the Sabbat, taken the Vaulderie and received the Betrayer’s Mark. These sorcerers have got a hard lot; the Telyavs look down on them and most members of the Sabbat pause only long enough to spit on them (sometimes quite literally). Theirs is an existence of singing for their supper, practicing Thaumaturgy for the Sabbat and teaching it to those rare Cainites of the Sword of Caine with the inclination and desire to learn it. But Tremere have wills of iron, and to these rare defectors the harshness of the Sabbat is exhilarating freedom compared to the crushing weight of the pyramid.

House Carna (Anarch Faction)

Carna the blood witch. Carna the pagan. Carna, the knife in the back.

Carna, the rebel. Carna the hero. Carna, the Tremere who had enough.

To Tremere loyalists, no greater clear and present danger faces the clan than Carna and her rebel house. When Carna discovered a new way to shatter the bonds between the Tremere and their masters, she threatened the stability of the entire Pyramid. Realizing the danger she was in, the charismatic sorceress called together disaffected Tremere, most but not all of them young, and decamped for the West Coast and the Anarch Free State. House Carna’s covens tend to exist on the fringes of the Free State, and position themselves as magical problem-solvers and occult advisors to Barons and anarch gangs who are starved for both.

House Carna professes to revel in the freedom the Anarch movement provides, and its current primary goal is to make sure the Anarchs keep control of Los Angeles. As long as Los Angeles is free, House Carna has a haven that will allow them to build themselves into a faction that can stand up to the rest of the Tremere, and perhaps even overthrow the pyramid entirely. Despite her rebel status, Carna is every inch a Tremere magus; ambitious as Hell and convinced that any obstacle can be overcome through an unyielding and enlightened Will. Freedom and vengeance are hers for the taking, and she means to have ample amounts of both.

In order to distinguish itself and make itself more appealing to younger Tremere, House Carna has adulterated the old High Ritual with more modern and remixed magical styles such as malefic witchcraft, darker versions of Wicca, Chaos Magick, and the Path of Technomancy.

As part of joining House Carna, Tremere go through a ritual derived from the Book of the Grave War that destroys their blood bond to the Council of Seven and severs any accompanying sympathetic links that could be used against them. While similar in some ways to the Vaulderie, this ritual does not brand a member of House Carna with the betrayer's mark. However, the true weakness of Tremere blood (requiring only two drinks to become bound to another) remains intact.

Modern Nights Game Lore

The Fate of Goratrix

House Goratrix was the dominant sect of Tremere antitribu for roughly five hundred years, created when the Tremere Archmagus Goratrix fled to the Sabbat with his closest followers and descendants sometime after the Anarch Revolt. Despite being widely hated amongst the Sabbat, House Goratrix earned their keep by providing essential organized magical support to the sect. In 1999, a convocation of the Tremere Antitribu was held at their main chantry in Mexico City, where the overwhelming majority of House Goratrix were destroyed, presumably as a result of some sort of failed magical ritual. Only a few scattered survivors remained among the packs, so few that the entire House was effectively snuffed out. House Goratrix’s Mexico City Chantry, the Universidad del Tercer Círculo de la Serpiente Dorada, is a deathtrap full of Thaumaturgical wards, mundane traps, unstable and decaying magical experiments, and good old-fashioned monsters. Some Cainite nerds have started referring to it as the “Tomb of Horrors.”

Rumors of sightings of Goratrix himself continue to pop up, but most just treat those reports like the Kine used to treat sightings of Elvis or Hitler. Then again, there are still persistent rumors that Elvis was embraced. And those who're aware of the movements of the Astors know that they're very interested in leads on any Tremere who claims to have seen or spoken with Goratrix, not that any Warlock would be so foolish as to admit that openly.

Carna's Rebellion

“Stronger than lover's love is lover's hate. Incurable, in each, the wounds they make.”
-Euripides, Medea

The Tremere play down Carna as an aberration to the rest of the Camarilla - an outlier, a fluke. They denounce her and her followers as Sabbat defectors or diabolists who will in due course be hunted down and destroyed by the Tremere for their treachery.

In reality, the clan's elders are beginning to panic, as more and more Tremere - influential members of the clan and accomplished Thaumaturges - have disappeared only to re-appear in the Anarch Free State among the followers of the Princess Witch. How did she do it? If she'd figured out how to use the Vaulderie for her own ends, she and her followers would bear the Betrayers' Mark - they do not. If she's found a new ritual that allows her to shatter the blood bond, then it isn't one the Tremere know anything about, and they'd very much like to. Those members of House Carna the clan has been able to capture have not been forthcoming, even under the most gruesome of tortures. What's more frightening, attempts to re-assert the blood bond to the clan over them have failed. There is no sign that Carna's followers are consorting with demons, either.

Now the Tremere suspect that Carna may have discovered a very, very old secret of Blood Magic, one which the rest of the clan knows nothing about. Though they continue to dismiss Carna as a harmless lunatic in public, the Tremere know full well that she is both politically savvy, having successfully held one of the Ivory Tower's most prestigious princedoms for many, many years, and she is also an exceptionally talented Thaumaturge. They know she has a plan, one that she believes can succeed.

The Warlocks are, in a word, shook by the Princess Witch. They're shook bad.